http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC-pF3OHY1c

Following the controversial decision to allow France's goal to stand as Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball prior to assisting William Gallas, it is only normal to have increased complaints and ever growing displeasure at the level of refereeing.

Watch the Thierry Henry handball video from the France versus Ireland game here. In the analysis by Irish TV station RTE, the pundits dissect the controversial moment in the game and analyze whether it should have been offside or not and whether the video of the Thierry Henry handball shows if he cheated on purpose or not.

French striker Thierry Henry committed a blatant handball against Ireland today in the World Cup Qualifier which led to a goal by William Gallas and sent France to the 2010 World Cup, leaving Ireland's dreams dashed and Irish football supporters feeling understandably bitter.

The blatant handball by Henry was disgraceful and a horrible way to send Ireland out of the World Cup qualifying.

Spain have just launched their home jersey for the 2010 World Cup and the design has a 1980s feel about it. Adidas have once again manufactured this World Cup kit, which is the usual red with a hint of blue on the sleeve and neck areas, and yellow Adidas stripes up the arms and shoulders. The Adidas logo is featured on the top centre part of the shirt and the Spanish badge is on the left of the shirt.

Scotland suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Wales at the weekend to signal the end of George Burley's Scotland career after only 22 months in charge. This was not the first time that Burley's position as Scotland manager had come under scrutiny, however where he had been given more time previously, time had well and truly run out for him this time around.

The following list of elite midfield players in the world will exclude the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka since they sometimes play as forwards or as support strikers depending on the strategy deployed by their team. Kaka has previously played as a second striker during his spell with Milan while both Messi and Ronaldo have played in various attacking positions for their club (mostly on the wing though).

At the Olympic Stadium, Greece drew 0-0 with Ukraine in the first leg of their World Cup playoff. Tomorrow night, the 2nd leg with take place at another Olympic Stadium, this time in Kyiv. It really should be a tough affair with it all to play for and a place in the tournament in South Africa.

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In the modern world of football, Europe is the most powerful confederation in FIFA and its a shame that FIFA's most powerful confederation doesn't lead the way in how it runs its World Cup qualification.

When it comes to World Cup qualifying, Europe can look to other FIFA confederations on how it should be done.

On Saturday night, Russia defeated Slovenia 2-1 in the first leg of their World Cup Playoff, in Russia. Russia had gone 2-0 up, thanks to a double from Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, however Slovenia scored in the 88th minute with a goal from Nejc Pecnik, that has kept the Slovenians alive in the tie, especially with a crucial away goal.

A number of players can stake a claim for being part of the best team in the world at this early period of the European domestic leagues. However, very few players standout the way those listed below have in terms of their contribution to their team, their role as leaders, and certainly their crucial involvement in their respective clubs.

Ever since I started watching football many years ago now, when it came time for the World Cup, Spain were always considered a dangerous threat by many pundits that they would win the tournament, only to let everyone down time and time again. Spain are likely to have one of the best selling World Cup Jerseys in the tournament, but the best they have finished is 4th place in a World Cup and that was in 1950.

The first legs of the European World Cup play-offs took place yesterday (Saturday) and Russia, Portugal and France all take slender advantages into their second legs.

Portugal managed to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 in Lisbon in their first leg. With Cristiano Ronaldo ruled out of the tie through injury the Portuguese had to rely on the likes of Simao Sabrosa, Liedson and Deco for their creative spark but all three were guilt of below-par performances.

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The drama of World Cup qualifying reaches its apex in the next 7 days as the final spots for South Africa 2010 will be set. Nations will be paralyzed as their teams fight for footballing glory. The CONCACAF vs. CONMEBOL playoff features Los Ticos of Costa Rica vs.

In football attacking players often get most of the praise when their team is achieving results while players in other positions are often overlooked. Defenders are typically ignored when accolades and awards are given out, yet it would be wrong to underestimate the contribution and influence of key defensive players such as Italy's Paolo Maldini or France's Lilian Thuram, just to name a couple of outstanding talents.

On Saturday 14th November 2009, Portugal play Bosnia-Herzegovina in the first leg of their World Cup playoff. This is a really tough one to predict for me, as Portugal have really struggled in the group stage and Bosnia appear to have a strong side. Sports retailers will certainly be hoping for a Portuguese victory, as they are likely to be one of the best selling World Cup Jerseys likely to be among the best selling kits next summer.